


Disasters, Narrowly Averted

by mahoni



Category: Stargate Atlantis
Genre: 1000-5000 Words, Friendship, Humor, Multi, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2007-12-30
Updated: 2007-12-30
Packaged: 2017-10-03 07:31:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,689
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15658
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mahoni/pseuds/mahoni
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Rodney/Katie; and John, Teyla and a Rubik's cube.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Disasters, Narrowly Averted

"It's nice," Katie said, smiling at Rodney. He thought her smile was a little crooked. Surely she wasn't going to get all sentimental and cry over this? "It's a...Rubik's Cube."

"Didn't you have one when you were a kid? I went through half a dozen of them when I was five. Every time I solved one I insisted on having it mounted on a block of wood and set on the shelf with my other trophies." He dropped his forkful of mashed potatoes and took the toy from her. "See, you just give it a spin. Like this."

He started to twist the cube to mix up the squares, but she caught it back from him, her smile growing fondly exasperated, which was a really adorable look on her -- thank god, since it was one Rodney saw a lot.

"Of course I had one as a kid," she said, twisting and turning and twisting the colors all out of order.

"Do you like it?"

"Of course I do!"

Rodney grinned and managed not to slump back in his chair in relief. He'd lucked out, frankly. He'd entirely forgotten about dinner with Katie tonight, much less the fact that the dinner was to celebrate their first year of dating. Dr. Keller had asked him on the way out of the meeting if he thought Katie was going to be mad about Rodney being late for dinner; then when he stared blankly at her, elaborated until Rodney remembered the anniversary dinner that was supposed to have happened in his quarters, oh, three hours ago.

"Well," Keller had said, wryly, "The present you got her had better be awesome, that's all I'm saying."

At which point Rodney commed Katie and babbled about the meeting going on and on forever, and insisted that it was not too late and they should meet in the cafeteria. Then he fled to the commissary, because he hadn't even realized he was supposed to get her a present, for god's sake.

Pickings at the commissary were extremely thin. Atlantis regularly got in small supplies of various non-food, non-toiletry, non-military stuff, but things like that went fast. That night there were a couple of novels left, but they were romance and horror, and he could only ever remember seeing mystery novels in her quarters. There was a small stash of jewelry, but he didn't want to seem too serious -- i.e., desperate -- and wasn't jewelry for, like, the second or third anniversary? Or was it just for engagements? He hadn't exactly had a whole lot of long-term dating experience, but he was pretty sure something like that was inappropriate for a first anniversary.

And then he'd seen the Rubik's Cube. Fun, clever, and a perennial classic: it was perfect.

He worked on devouring the rest of his meatloaf, saying around mouthfuls, "I thought about jewelry, but then I thought, you know, we've only been dating for a year and jewelry would probably be a little much. And that Rubik's Cube -- that's a classic! Not one those new ones that are basically Simon Says in a box - that's the real thing! So, what did you get me?"

Katie's charming blush, which had been fading, bloomed again. She set the Rubik's Cube gently down beside her tray and poked with sudden interest at her entrée.

"Oh," she said. "Well, I did get you something, but..." She made a vague motion with her free hand. "It's getting so late. I...I could maybe give it to you another time."

Rodney smiled affectionately at her. Whatever she got him was obviously not as cool as a Rubik's Cube, but there was no reason for her to be embarrassed.

"Nonsense," he said. He set down his silverware and folded his hands expectantly in his lap.

After a little more hedging on her part and encouragement on his, she retrieved a small wrapped box from the chair beside her. "It's...you'll probably think it's silly..."

Rodney took it and made short work of the wrapping. "Of course I won't think it's silly!" He beamed. "It's from you, so it's already wonderful! It's -- oh. It's...it's jewelry."

It was a bracelet. It had his name engraved on it. He stared at it. Did men wear bracelets? Sheppard wore that sweatband all the time, and Ronon frequently wore enormous leather wrist gauntlet things, but they weren't engraved. And they weren't bracelets.

He realized Katie had begun arranging her meatloaf, mashed potatoes and peas in neat, concentric circles on her tray, and if that wasn't enough to tell him that she was upset, her bright red cheeks would have tipped him off.

He swallowed. Okay, so he didn't know if men wore engraved bracelets, but he certainly did, as of right now anyway.

"This is really, really nice," he said, and when she looked up at him he smiled as hugely as possible.

She looked miserable. "Rodney, it's okay if you don't like it --"

"I love it, really!" He extracted the bracelet from the box and struggled to fasten it around his wrist. "I just have to...I'm kind of fumble-fingered about this sort of...there."

He beamed as brightly as he could and held his arm out for her to see.

"Are you wearing jewelry now, McKay?"

Rodney's team, plus Keller, materialized nearby. Ronon being Ronon, Rodney couldn't tell by his expression or tone if he was teasing or just making conversation, but judging by the way Katie sank down a little in her chair, he knew how she had interpreted the comment.

Rodney had no chance to come up with a heroically snappy comeback though, because Ronon suddenly yelped and took a header toward their table. He caught himself on the edge, causing the table to grind sideways half a foot. He glowered over his shoulder as he got to his feet.

"Sorry!" Keller said. "I must have been walking too close."

"Good save," Sheppard said to no one in particular.

Ronon pulled the table back into place, and Rodney and Katie's intimate dinner suddenly turned into a social event.

"What is this?" Teyla picked up the Rubik's Cube as she sat down next to Katie.

"Ooh," Keller said, taking the spot on Katie's other side. "A Rubik's Cube! I had one of those as a kid. I could never solve it, though."

"That doesn't really surprise me," Rodney said acidly, trying to glare at both Ronon and Sheppard as they took chairs on either side of him. "Excuse me, but you have the entire cafeteria at your disposal. Do you have to sit right here?"

"Oh, I don't mind," Katie said. Keller leaned across her, trying to explain the purpose of the Rubik's cube to Teyla, causing Katie to sink even lower in her seat.

"I mind!" Rodney said. It was possible the evening could be even more of a disaster, but at the moment Rodney couldn't quite think how. Katie continued to slide down in her seat, Keller apparently couldn't explain how to work a Rubik's Cube if her life depended on it, and then Ronon, who had no more idea what the thing was or what to do with it than Teyla, decided to try to help from across the table, knocking over Rodney's milk in the process.

Katie helped Rodney mop up the milk as best she could, given that she was completely boxed in, and Rodney tried not to explode.

"You know," Sheppard said quietly, conversationally. He was slouched in his chair, unfazed by the chaos. Rodney wanted to slug him. "I was talking to the gal in charge of getting the observatory up and running. Apparently the viewing equipment hasn't been moved in yet, but she mentioned that she might be able to let a couple of visitors in tonight to watch the meteor shower through the skylight."

"Gee, how nice," Rodney snapped, dropping milk-soaked napkins on his milk-flooded tray. "Hey, here's an idea, why don't you go there and leave us alone?"

Sheppard shrugged. "Well, I would, Rodney. Except that I don't have a romantic date scheduled for tonight."

"Obviously not. Unlike some other people --"

Sheppard was looking at him sideways, exasperatingly impassive, and Rodney broke off. He could feel himself blinking stupidly while what Sheppard had said sunk in.

"Oh." He was still blinking stupidly; he hated when that happened, and especially when it happened around Sheppard. It was just that given the accumulation of disasters that the evening had become, the abrupt appearance of a possible silver lining had thrown him for a loop. "Oh. Well. That's very interesting, very good information. Um. Thank you."

"Now might be a good time to go," Sheppard said, tilting his head at Katie. She had begun to discreetly gather up her silverware, soggy napkins and cup of water, no doubt preparatory to escape.

Rodney slid out of his chair and was behind her as she started to scoot her own chair backward. She looked up at him, startled, when he helped draw her chair out.

"Rodney! I was just…it's getting late --" she started.

"I know," he said. "But, if you're not too tired, if you think you can stay up a while longer, I have a surprise."

Her expression turned dubious. Rodney didn't entirely blame her.

"It's a good surprise, I promise."

He smiled hopefully, taking her hand and giving it a tug. He could tell as soon as she caved, and he didn't wait for her to answer.

"Good! No, leave your tray, one of these inconsiderate cretins can clear our stuff."

They left the others fussing over the Rubik's Cube, and by the time they got to the hall, Katie had tucked her arm in his and was grinning.

When they got to the observatory, Dr. Akberzie was waiting to let them in before she left for the night.

A huge section of the roof was open, leaving only a weak force field -- strong enough to keep out the weather but not strong enough to be a terrible power drain -- between them and the clear night sky. Candles were scattered around the darkened room; between them and the stars visible through the roof, walking into the room was like entering a world of sky. In the center of the room were piled blankets and pillows from Rodney's own room, and a bottle of wine and two glasses.

Rodney was impressed and gratified, and decided immediately that he absolutely was going to take credit for this. Given the circumstances he didn't think that Sheppard and whoever else had helped him set all of this up would mind.

"Oh, Rodney," Katie said softly. Then she gasped. There was enough light in the room for Rodney to see her eyes widen and her lips part as she watched the first meteors strike the atmosphere and blaze through the heavens.

She looked amazing. When he tried to say so he discovered he couldn't speak, so he didn't say anything, and let her lead him to the blankets instead.

*

_Epilogue_

"It's just a toy," John said carefully.

The cafeteria was empty. The rest of the late night diners had come and gone; Ronon and Dr. Keller had left some time ago as well. It was just him and Teyla now. He wondered if the kitchen staff would come to his rescue if he couldn't diffuse the situation and Teyla tried to murder him.

"It's supposed to be just for fun," he said. "You don't have to solve it. Hell, I never solved one." That was a lie, but he thought that would calm her more than 'it takes me a whole two minutes to solve one of those' would.

Teyla was hunched in her chair, half-turned away from him so that he couldn't grab the Rubik's Cube from her. She was staring at it with her brows knitted and so much acid in her glare he was surprised the thing hadn't melted yet.

"It is a stupid toy," she growled. "A pointless challenge that provides an individual with absolutely no practical skills. That you would give something like this to your children when their time could be employed doing more useful things says a great deal about your culture."

She probably had a point about what the Rubik's Cube said about Earth culture, but he got the feeling she was less interested in a philosophical discussion than she was in venting rage.

"You're absolutely right. So why waste your time?" He leaned forward and reached slowly across the table, but she jerked away.

"No. It is stupid, and I refuse to be defeated by it. I _will_ solve it."

John sighed. "Okay," he said, sagging back in his chair. He decided to try whining again. "You will solve it, but not tonight, all right? It's almost three o'clock in the morning and I'm tired. Aren't you tired?"

She paid no attention, muttering to herself instead as she started to twist sections of the cube.

Several minutes passed, during which John contemplated the odds of him surviving with all important body parts in tact if he tackled her over the table.

Suddenly Teyla straightened.

"I completed a side," she said, staring in amazement at the cube. "I completed a side!"

She turned and held it out, showing him one side of the cube covered in only red squares.

He took his chance and snagged it away from her, saying quickly, "Wow, that's great, look at that! And what a perfect time to take a break and enjoy your success!"

"No! I must --" She lunged over the table, nearly knocking him over backwards. He caught her and held her, stretching his arm overhead and the cube out of reach.

"Teyla! Teyla, for Chrissakes!"

She froze and looked at him. The fact that they were nose to nose finally startled her out of her single-minded pursuit. They sat there tangled up, the chair balanced precariously on two legs, while the berserker haze of supreme aggravation subsided and she took stock of her surroundings.

"Oh," she said.

"Uh huh." He raised an eyebrow. "Are you through now?"

Teyla cleared her throat and climbed off of him with as much dignity as she could muster. "I apologize," she said. "I did not mean to…well." She looked around the cafeteria. "Where are Ronon and Dr. Keller?

"They left a couple of hours ago."

"Hours?" The dignity slipped and she stared at him. "How long have we been here?"

"_Hours_," John said. He stood and stretched, making sure that he was holding the toy in the hand stretching away from her. "I hung around because I was afraid you were going to hurt yourself trying to conquer this thing. Well, yourself or some poor, unsuspecting diner or cafeteria staffer. But if you're feeling better now, I'd really like to hit the sack."

She let him herd her toward the exit, chagrined.

"I cannot believe I became so preoccupied by such a ridiculous toy," she said.

He gave her a look. "'Preoccupied' is one word for it."

She laughed wryly, and paused outside the cafeteria. "Would you like me to return that to Dr. Brown?" she asked casually, holding out her hand for the Rubik's Cube.

"Like hell," John said, tucking it behind his back. "No more Rubik's Cube for you. If you need a ridiculous Earth toy to play with, borrow Dr. Zelenka's Nintendo."

She laughed, he laughed, they parted, and John didn't relax until he was safely back in his quarters. He'd half expected Teyla to use her crazy Athosian Ninja skills to ambush him and steal the toy. He tossed it onto his bed, flopped into his desk chair and logged into his email. Halfway through drafting the message he realized that Carter would probably think he was drunk-emailing her, but, he decided, what the hell. She'd been in the SGC longer than he had; surely she would have seen stranger requests than the one he was sending to confiscate all Rubik's Cubes from Atlantis and to put them on the 'unnecessary extravagance' list next time they sent a supply order to the SGC.

*


End file.
